Bhubaneswar, April 12: The charred body of a 23-year-old German national was recovered last night from a lodge at Penthakata in Puri, around 60km from here.

Police recovered the body of Wischnewski Vincent Julian, a native of Rostack in Germany, from his locked room at the lodge.

“Prima facie, evidence suggests that he was burnt while sleeping in the room. No external injury marks were visible on the body. Circumstantial evidence shows that his bed might have caught fire from a burning cigarette butt, and subsequently, Julian was charred to death,” said inspector in charge of Seabeach police station Pravash Chandra Sahu.

The police suspect that Julian might not have been able to react as he used to take intoxicating drugs.

The police said a large quantity of intoxicating drugs and syringes had been found in the room. “We have found a prescription in the room, and it stated that Julian had been suffering from severe pain because of a surgery. He was prescribed the drugs in Germany,” said a police officer.

However, the cops are trying to find out the details of the surgery.

The incident came to light when lodge employees saw smoke coming out of Julian’s room. They rushed to the room but failed to get in as the door was locked from inside. Later, the employees informed the police, who broke the door and found the body with 70 per cent burn injury.

“My employees informed me about the smoke coming out of the room. I rushed to the spot and informed the police,” said lodge owner Ashok Samal.

Further investigations revealed that the German national had checked in the lodge on April 3.

“He had come to India on December 9 last year, and he landed in Puri on March 31. The German national had stayed in other hotels before checking to this lodge,” said a police official.

Julian’s tourist visa, which was also recovered from the room, was due to expire on May 7. The police are trying to find out which other places the German national visited during his stay in India.

The police have sent the body to SCB Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem. A case of unnatural death has been registered in Seabeach police station. The cops have informed the German consulate in Calcutta.